Alicia Glen's legacy

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QUICK FIX

— Former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen stood apart in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s City Hall, as seen through range of housing and economic development fights over the course of her tenure. Read our story on her legacy below.

Story Continued Below

— A new spokesperson for the New York City Housing Authority posted a searing critique of the mayor’s homelessness record on social media when she worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

— The City Council’s zoning subcommittee will take up several land use applications at its 9:30 a.m. meeting, including a controversial proposal to regulate the use of mechanical spaces in residential towers. Read the meeting agenda here.

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING. Welcome to POLITICO New York Real Estate. This roundup is for you, so please tell us how we can make it better. Please send tips, ideas, calendar items, releases, promotions, criticisms and corrections to jchadha@politico.com.

POLICY AND POLITICS

ALICIA GLEN’S LEGACY — In de Blasio's City Hall, pro-development deputy mayor stood apart, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg and Joe Anuta: It was Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen’s last chance to blunt the impact of a looming mandate, co-signed by a union with unmatched influence over City Hall. The City Council was considering legislation last year to rein in Airbnb by forcing it to disclose reams of data that would undoubtedly highlight illegal activity facilitated by the unregulated home-sharing empire. Glen, who left the administration last month after five years in the role, saw the company as a potential asset to the city’s economy rather than an adversary. For years she had tried to strike a deal with Airbnb. As the vote approached, she voiced displeasure with the bill on a conference call with other city officials, according to several people with knowledge of the call….

That divide between the hard-charging deputy mayor, who came to City Hall from Wall Street, and an administration whose nerve center is its political unit, played out over the course of Glen’s tenure, according to interviews with more than 30 city officials, union representatives, lobbyists and politicians, as well as a review of housing and economic development policy fights. Read the story here.

NYCHA NEWS — When working for governor, new NYCHA spokesperson gave scathing critique of de Blasio, by Sally: The new spokesperson for the New York City Housing Authority pointedly criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio’s record on homelessness when she worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Barbara Brancaccio, who assumed the job at the embattled public housing agency last week, once publicized a searing take on the mayor, who has overseen a record high level of homelessness during his tenure. “I want to be very clear … the homeless ‘crises’ is the result of incompetent leadership in City Hall, the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services,” Brancaccio wrote on her Facebook page in December of 2015. Read the story here.

— City kicks off $88M lead eradication effort at NYCHA, by POLITICO's Amanda Eisenberg: The city will start testing public housing units this week to eradicate lead-based hazards, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday afternoon. The $88 million, yearlong effort aims to eradicate lead from 135,000 New York City Housing Authority apartments built before 1978 — when the federal government banned lead paint. The announcement comes about nine months after reports found thousands of children living in public housing over several years had elevated blood lead levels, or lead poisoning. Read the story here.

RENT REGS — "Upstate Assembly members wary of rent regulations," by Times Union's Rachel Silberstein: “With New York City's rent regulations set to expire in June, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie last week backed a plan to make rent stabilization available upstate as well. That proposal, however, revived a familiar debate about whether rent restrictions improve conditions for tenants, or just make them worse. Facing pressure from progressives, the Assembly's Democratic majority has sponsored nine of 10 legislative proposals put forward by the Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance, a newly formed statewide tenant coalition.” Read the story here.

LANDLORD WATCH — Mayor taps Jackie Bray to lead tenant protection office, by POLITICO's Janaki Chadha: The mayor’s newly created Office to Protect Tenants will be lead by Department of Homeless Services first deputy commissioner Jackie Bray, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The office, which de Blasio established earlier this year, will be tasked with coordinating the work of city agencies that deal with tenant and landlord issues. Housing advocates have pointed to lapses in coordination between different agencies, such as instances where the city's housing agency has brought charges against a landlord who is still getting permits from the buildings agency. Read the story here.

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Deals & Leases

BIG SALE — "Nightingale in talks to buy Coca-Cola building for more than $900M: sources," by The Real Deal's Rich Bockmann: “Nightingale Properties is in late-stage talks to buy the Coca-Cola building on Fifth Avenue at a price north of $900 million, sources with knowledge of the negotiations told The Real Deal. The Midtown-based investment firm is negotiating a purchase and sale agreement to buy the 18-story building at 711 Fifth Avenue from the soft drink maker for $910 million, sources said. That price works out to more than $2,500 per square foot for the 354,000-square-foot building. Much of the building’s value rests in its ground-floor retail space, which fronts along East 55th Street and a prime stretch of Fifth Avenue, home to some of the priciest retail rents in the world.” Read the story here.

WEWORK DOMINATION — "WeWork’s HQ division nabs 3 leases in Midtown, FiDi and Chelsea," by The Real Deal's Eddie Small: “WeWork has inked leases for three new Manhattan locations totaling about 54,700 square feet, the company announced Monday. The firm is taking roughly 26,600 square feet of space at ELK Investors’ 33 East 33rd Street, 17,350 square feet of space at EQ Office’s 44 Wall Street and 10,750 square feet of space at George Comfort & Sons and ASB Real Estate Investments’ 7 West 18th Street. It expects to open all three locations to members by the summer. Read the story here.

AROUND NEW YORK

RETAIL WOES — "This West Village Institution Is Fighting for Survival, One Scone at a Time," by The New York Times' Corey Kilgannon: “Tea & Sympathy, a small tea room-style restaurant in the West Village, is itself in need of some sympathy. ‘That’s what I tell people these days: ‘I’ve given you the tea — now you have to give me the sympathy,’ said Nicky Perry, 59, a co-owner of the restaurant that serves tea and traditional British comfort food. It is one of three adjacent British-themed shops she owns and that have become something of a community outpost on Greenwich Avenue. Rising costs — from rent and real estate taxes to city fines and fees — have left Ms. Perry struggling to keep the businesses open and have required her to take out several loans, she said.” Read the story here.

TAKE A LOOK — "Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Squibb Bridge replacement gets fresh renderings," by Curbed New York's Amy Plitt: “Say hello to the new Squibb Bridge: After announcing last year that it would close and replace the beleaguered pedestrian pathway, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation is moving forward with a new span that will connect the park to Brooklyn Heights. Fresh renderings show what that new walkway, to be designed and constructed by Arup, might look like—and it will basically replicate the look and feel of the old Squibb Bridge, albeit from structurally sound metal rather than timber.” Read the story here.

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About The Author : Janaki Chadha

Janaki Chadha is a reporter at POLITICO New York covering housing, economic development and real estate. She has previously written for The Wall Street Journal, the Oregonian and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is originally from New Jersey and now lives in Brooklyn.